Oklahoma

Oklahoma C Joshua Bates Apologizes for His Meltdown: ‘I Need to Be Way Better’

Published

1 year ago

September 10, 2024

Oklahoma C Joshua Bates Apologizes for His Meltdown: ‘I Need to Be Way Better’

NORMAN — Joshua Bates’ mea culpa has come in layers. But it’s been sincere every time.

First, Bates apologized to his Oklahoma teammates. That came on Saturday night, minutes after the Sooners held on to a 16-12 victory over Houston.

On Monday, OU’s redshirt freshman center apologized to the world.

It was the sixth question to Bates in a post-practice interview that lasted nearly eight minutes. It was the one everyone wanted answered, and Bates took on the glare of the cameras and microphones and a dozen or so local reporters, standing just a few yards from where it all went down.

“I need to be way better in that moment,” Bates said.

The moment in question happened in the closing seconds of the Sooners’ narrow escape of the four-touchdown underdog Cougars.

OU held a four-point lead, and the Sooners were trying to bleed as much time off the clock as possible before pun ting the ball back to Houston. On third down, quarterback Jackson Arnold took the snap at 47 seconds, and the play clock almost immediately reset for 40. But Arnold didn’t go down immediately, hesitating, waiting for Houston defenders to get close.

Meanwhile, the Oklahoma offensive line, which had a very difficult night against the Cougar front seven, was holding its ground, aggressively not letting anyone gain ground on Arnold. At the last possible moment, Arnold dropped to the ground, but he was met there — with some force — by some Houston defenders.

Bates, an aggressive young player who plays notoriously hard (it’s been said that he got into three fights in his first preseason training camp last year) didn’t like that, and quickly engaged.

Even as his teammates surrounded him and escorted him away from the melee, Bates’ fury was unrelenting. Within a few seconds, Bates took his helmet off and continued screaming at his adversaries.

Bold. Defiant. Even a little courageous, maybe. Admirable, to be sure, to defend his quarterback with such ferocity.

But the moment Bates escalated things and took off his helmet, it drew an immediate 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which stopped the game clock with 35 seconds to play — and ensured Houston would have one final breath on offense.

Instead of getting the ball back with 4-5 seconds left, the Cougars started possession at their own 13-yard line with 29 seconds to go. They ran four offensive plays and actually gained 42 yards to the OU 45 before the clock finally ran out.

On the “Oklahoma Breakdown” podcast on Sunday, former OU offensive lineman Gabe Ikard called it “the stupidest play I’ve ever (expletive) seen on Owen Field.”

Bates stood up in front the team on Saturday night and apologized for his actions. He reiterated his regret again Monday night.

“I have dealt with it with my team,” he said. “I have apologized to the team, and my No. 1 thing is to make sure I gain the respect of my teammates back.”

“I think what’s most important for me personally is earning the trust of the coaches back,” head coach Brent Venables said Tuesday during his weekly press conference. “And I trust Josh. Don’t get me wrong. But that was a tough moment to watch under the circumstances any time. That doesn’t represent me, and it certainly doesn’t represent this program.”

Maybe Bates just finally lost his cool because he’d had such a frustrating night blocking Houston’s defensive tackles. Or maybe he really blew up at seeing Arnold smushed at the bottom of an otherwise unnecessary pile.

“He owned it immediately, felt terrible,” Venables said. “And that still doesn’t take it back. But at the same time, he’s an emotional guy that was going to bat for his quarterback and lost his cool. So we’re not going to make it more than it needs to be. We’re talking about it because you brought it up, but we’re moving forward. His moving forward and earning the respect back from everybody is just (to) go to work.”

“That’s something I’m still down about,” Bates said. “It’s something that I cannot do in that moment. Emotions got to me. That stuff will never happen again. I’ve apologized to the team. I’ve apologized to the coaches. I made it clear I’ll do anything I can to fix that mistake and move on.”

“I know his teammates respect him,” Venables added, “because Josh comes to work, he likes to work, he loves practice. He’ll take every rep in practice if you allow him. So, I don’t think that Josh will do anything other than work, and that’s it. In the locker room, that’s what it’s all about.”

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma storms bring widespread damage, tornadoes in Purcell and Shawnee

Published

10 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Oklahoma storms bring widespread damage, tornadoes in Purcell and Shawnee

8:45 p.m. Tornado Update from NWS Norman:

EF1 (high end) at Purcell
EF0 near Lake Thunderbird (south of Stella/northwest of Little Axe)
EF1 west and near the Shawnee Twin Lakes
EF1 in north Shawnee.
There are other areas of damage that we will continue to investigate.

Original story:

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Storms moved through parts of Oklahoma on Thursday morning, with at least five tornado warnings issued and two tornadoes that touched down in Purcell and Shawnee, leaving behind damage.

A line of strong to severe thunderstorms moved through central and eastern Oklahoma early Thursday that producing tornadoes, damaging winds, and power outages.

Preliminary information from the National Weather Service in Norman shows that at least EF-1 damage was found in Purcell. Survey teams are continuing to assess the damage that was left behind from the morning storms.

Officials also reported that widespread power outages occurred in the city, along with downed trees and powerlines, with nine homes having damaged roofs, and a semi-truck rollover accident on I-35 with one injury.

Shawnee also suffered some damage Thursday morning, which includes downed fences and partial roof loss at the Holiday Inn Express. As of Thursday evening, NWS officials confirm that a tornado did touch down in the northern portion of Shawnee; however, a preliminary rating hasn’t been given at this time.

According to Comanche County Emergency Management, damages related to the storms were reported across the City of Lawton, with roof damage at Sheridan and Lee, along with power pole and power line damage.

Lawton Fire Department responded to a rooftop fire at MacArthur High School on Thursday morning, caused by wind damage to AC units.

Lightning strikes in Edmond were reported to have caused a transformer fire near Covell and Kelly, with another lightning strike having caused a tree to fall on top of a vehicle near Covell and Broadway, resulting in one person being injured.

Straight-line winds were also reported to have destroyed a barn north of Guthrie, while structures were damaged in south Wynona, including a shop building that was devastated and a mobile home that was damaged.

Damage assessments are said to be ongoing at this time. News 4 will provide updates as we learn more.

According to NWS Norman officials, the last time the department issued a tornado warning in January was on January 10, 2020. However, Thursday’s reported tornado was not the earliest for a tornado to occur in Oklahoma. Tornadoes happened in Osage, Mayes, McIntosh, Ottawa, and Sequoyah Counties back on January 2, 2023.

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Oklahoma

Neighbors sift debris, help each other after suspected Purcell tornado

Published

22 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Neighbors sift debris, help each other after suspected Purcell tornado

PURCELL — Jennifer Fox had just fed the pigs behind her house early in the morning Thursday, Jan. 8, and began getting ready for work before she and her two sons heard something hit her bedroom window.

“I said, ‘Is it hailing?” she said. “My oldest looked out the window and he saw our awning across the back. He said, ‘Mom, the awning’s gone.”

Fox looked out the window and saw debris everywhere. She said she didn’t hear tornado sirens, but she and her sons immediately took shelter in a closet. By that time, the suspected tornado had already passed through her neighborhood off of Johnson Avenue in Purcell.

At first, Fox didn’t think there was a tornado and attributed the damage and debris to strong winds.

But just one street over, the roof of one house had been destroyed. When she looked at the house behind hers, Fox said she knew a tornado had hit her neighborhood.

“I was thankful at the time,” she said. “I told my kids, I said, ‘It could’ve been a lot worse.’ We weren’t prepared, obviously. I really felt like it just barely missed us.”

Severe weather passed through central Oklahoma early Thursday morning, bringing reports of damage from a possible tornado in Purcell. The National Weather Service in Norman reported on social media that survey teams have found at least EF1 tornado damage in the Purcell area.

The Purcell Fire Department reported a tornado touched down in the city, causing roof damage to nine homes, a semi truck rollover accident on Interstate 35 with one injury and widespread power outages, downed trees and powerlines.

On Norte Street in Purcell, the suspected tornado wiped out the roof of a newly-built home, throwing debris onto the road, including a Christmas tree and blue ornaments. The houses across the street and next door were untouched.

Community members and local high school students gathered pieces of trash, plywood, insulation and other debris and hauled them off.

Next door to Fox, a man and a woman removed debris from their yard that appeared to have blown over from Fox’s house. Like a puppy, a tall brown horse followed the man as he picked up each piece of trash. Across the street, cattle laid in the middle of a field and watched as one person after another drove into the neighborhood to lend a hand.

About five miles northeast of Fox’s house, the suspected tornado knocked over a few powerlines near Purcell’s football stadium. A tree fell onto a small white house and took the tin roof off a large warehouse.

Ron Musgrave, the warehouse’s owner, lives six miles north of Purcell. He said he learned his property was damaged through a local news broadcast.

“They had the people out front and they had the helicopters, so I could see it,” Musgrave said. “They were flying over here. There’s a football field, and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh. If that’s the football field, that’s my warehouse.”

The retired home builder and property owner said he keeps building supplies in his warehouse and a black and white cat who’s in charge of exterminating any trespassing mice.

The cat was happy to see Musgrave as he surveyed the water damage inside of the warehouse. Though there was some wet spots, the roof took most of the impact.

“It’s a project,” Musgrave said with a smile. “I am down for it.”

Severe weather damage reported in Shawnee, Norman

Tree damage was reported in Cleveland County at 156th Street and East Tecumseh Avenue, according to Alyse Moore, Cleveland County communications director, along with damage to a car port and barn at 800 Moffatt Road north of Lexington.

Storm damage was also reported in Shawnee. Social media posts show damage to the Holiday Inn Express and Walmart Supercenter off of Interstate 40.

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma Sooners add transfer portal offensive lineman to the roster

Published

1 day ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Oklahoma Sooners add transfer portal offensive lineman to the roster

The Oklahoma Sooners made an under-the-radar transfer portal addition on Wednesday, bringing back a player who spent two seasons in Norman before transferring out last year.

Former Central Oklahoma offensive lineman Kenneth Wermy will be returning to play for OU out of the portal. Wermy played for the Sooners in 2023 and 2024 before spending 2025 at the NCAA Division II level with the Bronchos. He’ll add depth to an offensive line group that is in need of it after recent portal departures.

Wemry is a local product from Cache, Oklahoma, and he stands at 6-foot-5 and weighs 315 pounds. The Sooners have been busy adding big names in the transfer market, but with a week and a half left until the portal closes, the focus may soon turn to retention and building back depth on the roster.

Oklahoma had a busy portal day on Wednesday, adding Wermy and former Michigan linebacker Cole Sullivan. However, Oklahoma also lost three players to the portal, in linebacker Sammy Omosigho, defensive back Jaydan Hardy, and wide receiver Zion Ragins.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X@Aaron_Gelvin.

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